| Welcome to Fun &Easy Japanese by JapanesePod101.com! |
| Did you know that the land of Japan is 75 percent occupied by mountains? |
| こんにちは、りさです。 |
| Hi everyone! I’m Risa. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn a guide to Japanese national holidays. |
| There are many different types of Japanese holidays that are celebrated in many different ways. |
| It’s best that you learn what these spring and summer holidays are so you know when is the best time to visit Japan! |
| In this video, you'll learn Japanese National holidays that are celebrated from March to August! |
| Let’s start with the national holidays in March. |
| Each year around March 20th, it’s a public holiday for Japanese people. This is because its the: |
| 春分の日 (Shunbun no hi) |
| “Spring or Vernal Equinox Day” |
| [SLOW] 春分の日 |
| 春分の日 |
| The Spring Equinox is one of the twenty-four divisions of the solar year. The year is equally divided into twenty-four parts based on the path of the sun, with each part having a name appropriate to its season. |
| In most places in Japan, the weather becomes warmer towards the end of March, and the Spring Equinox day feels like the coming of spring. |
| During this season, |
| 桜 (Sakura) |
| “cherry blossoms” |
| start blooming. |
| [SLOW] 桜 |
| 桜 |
| Some people even have a cherry-blossom viewing party to celebrate called |
| 花見 (hanami) |
| “Cherry-blossom viewing” |
| [SLOW] 花見 |
| 花見 |
| The cherry blossom is a symbolic flower of Japan, making this party very special. |
| On the day of the Spring Equinox, people offer rice dumplings covered with bean paste at the family altar and grave, after the ancestor memorial services. |
| They are called, |
| ぼた餅 (Botamochi) |
| [SLOW] ぼた餅 |
| ぼた餅 |
| Next on our list are holidays in April. |
| April 29th is |
| 昭和の日 (Shōwa no hi) |
| "Showa Day." |
| [SLOW] 昭和の日 |
| 昭和の日 |
| This day marks the birth of Emperor Showa, also known as Emperor Hirohito. |
| During the Showa Period, people observe a national holiday called the Emperor's Birthday. |
| After changing over to the Heisei Era in 1989, the holiday was renamed Greenery Day because of Emperor Hirohito’s deep love for nature. |
| In 2007, Greenery Day was moved to May 4 and the original Greenery Day on April 29 was renamed Showa Day. |
| It's the beginning of |
| ゴールデンウィーク(Gōruden Wīku) |
| “Golden Week” |
| [SLOW] ゴールデンウィーク |
| ゴールデンウィーク |
| One of the biggest holidays in Japan. |
| For many Japanese people, it’s just an ordinary day and isn't necessarily celebrated. |
| Let’s have a look at the holidays in May. |
| But first, let’s have a closer look at Golden Week. |
| It is one of the biggest holiday seasons in Japan; it’s also a great season for traveling. This holiday starts on April 29 and ends on May 5. |
| Combining weekends and paid holidays, some people take eight or nine days off in a row. |
| How awesome is that?! |
| Another holiday that happens every month of May is |
| 憲法記念日 (Kenpō kinenbi) |
| "Constitution Memorial Day.” |
| [SLOW] 憲法記念日 |
| 憲法記念日 |
| This holiday celebrates the enactment of the Japanese constitution in 1947 and also looks toward the future growth of the country. |
| The Constitutional Reform Faction and the Constitution Protection Faction hold lectures and surveys about constitutional amendments during this day. |
| Then we have Greenery Day which is observed on every 3rd of May. |
| The purpose of this day is to commune with nature and to be thankful for the benefits it offers. |
| It used to be a normal day sandwiched by Constitution Memorial Day and Children's Day. |
| But because of a Japanese national holiday law, a day sandwiched between holidays turns into a public holiday, and so May 4 became a holiday. |
| Next is |
| 子供の日(Kodomo no hi) |
| [SLOW] 子供の日 |
| 子供の日 |
| Or |
| 端午の節句 (Tango no sekku) |
| [SLOW] 端午の節句 |
| 端午の節句 |
| In English, it's Children's Day. |
| It’s a traditional event to pray for the healthy growth of boys. |
| In Japanese tradition, a male child usually succeeds the head of the family. Therefore, to pray for the healthy growth of boys means to pray for the future of the family. |
| When the government turned this celebration into a national holiday, it became a celebration day for all children. Today, families with only girls also celebrate this day. |
| For a traditional girls’ celebration, there's |
| 桃の節句 (Momo no sekku) |
| “Girl's Day” |
| [SLOW] 桃の節句 |
| 桃の節句 |
| It happens every 3rd of March but it isn't a national holiday. |
| You will see so many special decorations on Children’s Day. The exteriors of houses, verandas, and parks are decorated with carp streamers. |
| In Japanese carp are called |
| 鯉 (Koi) |
| “Koi” |
| [SLOW] 鯉 |
| 鯉 |
| According to an old Chinese tale, a koi climbed a dangerous river and became a dragon. From this story, koi streamers have been used as decorations to express wishes for children to become mighty. |
| There’s also a doll called a |
| 五月人形 (go-gatsu ningyō) |
| “May doll." |
| [SLOW] 五月人形 |
| 五月人形 |
| Typically, these are boys dressed as |
| 侍 (Samurai) |
| “Samurai” |
| [SLOW] 侍 |
| 侍 |
| and |
| 金太郎 (Kintarō) |
| "the Golden Boy," |
| [SLOW] 金太郎 |
| 金太郎 |
| with diamond-shaped aprons. |
| The traditional food for Children's Day is |
| 柏餅 (Kashiwamochi) |
| [SLOW] 柏餅 |
| 柏餅 |
| They are rice cakes stuffed with bean paste and and then wrapped with oak leaves. |
| The old leaves of |
| 柏 (Kashiwa) |
| "oak tree" |
| [SLOW] 柏 |
| 柏 |
| do not fall until new leaves appear. Thus, oak leaves eaten with 柏餅 express the desire that the "family tree will continue forever." |
| Today, many families celebrate casually by eating cakes and their children's favorite food, such as sushi. |
| If you think you’d enjoy these types of food, you might want to visit Japan around this time of the month. |
| Since there are no public holidays in June, let’s continue with those in July. |
| Every third Monday of July, Japanese people observe |
| 海の日 (Umi no hi) |
| “Sea Day” |
| [SLOW] 海の日 |
| 海の日 |
| It’s also known as Ocean Day or Marine Day. |
| The purpose of this holiday is to be thankful for the gifts offered by the oceans to think of the importance of the ocean as a maritime nation. |
| Sea Day is a very modern holiday as there’s no special traditional celebration done during this day. |
| However, it's a great season to go to the beach because many fun events are held at swimming pools, beaches, and aqua museums during this day. |
| Next are holidays in August.. |
| Every 11th of August, Japanese people celebrate |
| 山の日 (Yama no hi) |
| “Mountain Day” |
| [SLOW] 山の日 |
| 山の日 |
| The date, however, was changed only for the year 2020. It will be celebrated on August 10. |
| This holiday is the newest national holiday in Japan. It's like the Mountain version of Greenery Day and Sea Day. |
| It gives people time to commune with mountains and shows gratitude to the gifts mountains have to offer. |
| Keep in mind that the land of the Japanese nation is seventy percent occupied by mountains. |
| Some people enjoy climbing mountains, but for most people, Mountain Day is just a day of summer vacation. |
| This holiday was established to have a longer holiday during the season of |
| お盆 (Obon) |
| “Obon” |
| [SLOW] お盆 |
| お盆 |
| It’s a traditional Buddhist event to worship the spirits of ancestors which is generally held from August 13 to 16. |
| Since this obon holiday is a religious ritual, it's not a public holiday on the calendar. However, many people have summer vacation during obon holiday and go back to their hometown. |
| In this lesson, you learned all the national holidays that occur in Japan from March to August. |
| Want to learn Japanese fast with PDF cheat sheets? You get cheat sheets for all kinds of topics: travel, hobbies, love and much more… |
| …and you'll learn all of the must-know words and phrases for each. |
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| That’s it for today! See you next time! |
| またね！ |
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